Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has ruled out any negotiations with groups that reject the state, the Constitution and the law and take up arms against Pakistan, saying the province will press ahead with intelligence-based operations to restore peace.

Speaking at a press conference in Peshawar on Sunday, Mr Kundi said there could be no talks with those who had chosen armed violence. "Those who wage war against the state will be fought," he said, adding that there was no option other than winning the war against terrorism. He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's policy would come from Islamabad, not from Afghanistan.

The governor said the province fully supported operations against terrorism and that intelligence-based operations were essential to restoring peace. A zero-tolerance policy against terrorists is in force, he said, and those who take up arms against the state will be dealt with according to the law, while people who aid terrorists will be arrested through further operations.

Mr Kundi set out the funding behind the security push. The provincial government has sought Rs160 billion for its security needs, a demand the federal government endorsed after a large Apex Committee meeting in Peshawar attended by the prime minister and senior officials, with follow-up meetings on security and development held in Islamabad. The Secretary Interior said Rs70 billion would go to the police and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) this year, including Rs10.3 billion for the CTD.

Home Secretary Amjad Ali, speaking at the same press conference, said the police would be strengthened and equipped with modern technology and weapons. The governor said police would receive new weapons and ammunition, and that martyrs' packages and salaries would be improved. He also expressed concern that no police line had yet been built in the merged districts.

Faceless courts will be set up in the province for the trial of terrorists, according to the briefing, and social media monitoring is being improved to expose terrorist networks. Mr Ali said more than 1,000 soldiers had been martyred in the fight against terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and that the police martyrs' package was higher than in other provinces.

The governor also raised the cross-border dimension, saying Afghan soil was being used to facilitate India against Pakistan. He described past silence over remarks by Afghan officials about taking Peshawar, and over the arrival of drones, as regrettable, and said Pakistan had raised the issue at international forums through the Foreign Office, the foreign minister and the deputy prime minister.

Mr Kundi said engaging young people in positive activities was a priority and that the government was considering how to involve the province's large youth population. He added that the province had reached a point where there was no room to turn back, and that defeat was not in his side's dictionary.